Metal material for a wiring connector

ABSTRACT

A metal material for a wiring connector in wiring connection between metallic members, wherein at least one of the metallic members is comprised of copper or a copper alloy, wherein a connecting portion surface of at least one of the metallic members has an average roughness Ra of 0.3 μm or less and a maximum roughness Rt of 2.0 μm or less, and wherein the metal material is excellent in glow resistance.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a metal material for a wiring connector in which at least one metallic member of the wiring connector is comprised of copper or a copper alloy material. More specifically, the present invention relates to a metal material for a wiring connector capable of preventing occurrence of glow and proliferation of cuprous oxide.

BACKGROUND ART

A wiring connector has been widely used for a potion of electric connection, e.g. an outlet of an electrical appliance or a switch of illumination. A metal is generally used for the connecting portion, and metals are brought into contact with each other to carry out electric connection. Hitherto, heat generation at the connecting portion has been of concern. It has been known that micro-electric discharge (glow) occurs at a connecting portion, and proliferation of cuprous oxide is induced by the micro-electric discharge, to increase a contact resistance, thereby resulting in heat generation.

There has been proposed a copper alloy for a wiring connector with its alloy component reviewed so that said glow and proliferation of cuprous oxide hardly occur.

However, even investigation into an alloy component cannot prevent heat generation due to the occurrence of glow and the proliferation of cuprous oxide.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The inventors of the present invention, having made extensive studies on a connecting portion of a wiring connector, found that a roughness (degree of roughness) of a surface of a material and occurrence of glow are related to each other. The inventors have made further studies based on this finding, to attain the present invention.

According to the present invention, the following means are provided:

(1) A metal material for a wiring connector in wiring connection between metallic members, wherein at least one of the metallic members is comprised of copper or a copper alloy, wherein a connecting portion surface of at least one of the metallic members has an average roughness Ra of 0.3 μm or less and a maximum roughness Rt of 2.0 μm or less, and wherein the metal material is excellent in glow resistance; and

(2) The metal material for a wiring connector according to the above item (1), wherein a ratio Rt/Ra between the maximum roughness Rt and the average roughness Ra is 10 or less, and wherein the metal material is excellent in glow resistance.

In the metal material for a wiring connector of the present invention, the average roughness Ra and the maximum roughness Rt are limited, and, preferably, a ratio of the maximum roughness Rt to the average roughness Ra is controlled in the above-mentioned range. As a result, occurrence of glow and proliferation of cuprous oxide can be prevented, and heat generation can be suppressed. Therefore, the metal material is suitable for a wiring connector, such as an outlet of an electrical appliance, or a switch of illumination.

Other and further features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an apparatus for measuring glow resistance and cuprous oxide proliferation resistance, which apparatus was used in the following example.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. In the present invention, roughness is defined in accordance with JIS B 0601:2001. That is, the average roughness Ra in the present invention refers to the arithmetic average roughness of JIS B 0601:2001 mentioned above, and, similarly, the maximum roughness Rt in the present invention refers to the maximum sectional height of the roughness curve of JIS B 0601:2001 mentioned above.

In the present invention, at least one of the metallic members in wiring connection between the metallic members is comprised of copper or a copper alloy.

In the present invention, the surface at the connecting portion (contact point) of at least one of the metallic members, has an average roughness Ra of 0.3 μm or less and a maximum roughness Rt of 2 μm or less, and the metallic members preferably each have an average roughness Ra of 0.3 μm or less and a maximum roughness Rt of 2 μm or less.

The present invention include the case in which a metallic member having an average roughness Ra of 0.3 μm or less and a maximum roughness Rt of 2 μm or less is comprised of copper or a copper alloy, and the case in which such metallic member is comprised of not copper or a copper alloy but other metal material e.g. an Ni alloy.

The average roughness Ra of 0.3 μm or less and maximum roughness Rt of 2 μm or less are preferable because occurrence of glow can be drastically reduced.

A degree of roughness is an indication for irregularities of the surface of a material. It is assumed that voltages applied to the tips of the irregularities may converge to cause glow discharge.

In the present invention, when the average roughness Ra is more than 0.3 μm, it results that glow discharge be apt to occur. The average roughness Ra is preferably 0.2 μm or less.

On the other hand, similarly to the above, when the maximum roughness Rt is more than 2 μm, it results that glow discharge be apt to occur. The maximum roughness Rt is preferably 1 μm or less.

The average roughness Ra and maximum roughness Rt are preferably as small as possible. The lower limits of said average roughness Ra and maximum roughness Rt are not limited in particular, but generally the average roughness Ra is preferably 0.01 μm or more, and generally the maximum roughness Rt is preferably 0.05 μm or more.

The ratio Rt/Ra of the maximum roughness Rt to the average roughness Ra in the present invention is preferably 10 or less.

When the ratio Rt/Ra of the maximum roughness Rt to the average roughness Ra is 10 or less, occurrence of glow can be more effectively reduced. It is assumed that when the Rt/Ra is too large, it causes a site having large irregularities to be locally present so that glow discharge may be apt to occur at the site.

In the present invention, the ratio Rt/Ra is preferably 5 or less. The ratio Rt/Ra is preferably as small as possible. The lower limit of said ratio Rt/Ra is not limited in particular, but generally the ratio Rt/Ra is preferably 2 or more.

Any one of metals excellent in mechanical strength and electric conductivity is generally used for the metal material of the present invention for a wiring connector, because the metal material is required to have a contact pressure and electrical conductivity at a contact point. Of such metals, a stainless steel, a Ni alloy, and a copper alloy are preferable because they are excellent in mechanical strength and conductivity. It is more preferable that the metal material has a tensile strength of 500 MPa or more and/or a conductivity of 30% IACS or more.

Examples of the more preferable metal material include:

-   (1) a copper alloy comprising Sn 0.1 to 10 mass %, and P 0.001 to     0.5 mass %, the balance being copper and an inevitable impurity(s); -   (2) a copper alloy comprising Cr 0.1 to 1.0 mass %, and 0.05 to 5     mass % of at least one element of Sn and Zn, the balance being     copper and an inevitable impurity(s); -   (3) a copper alloy comprising Ni 1.0 to 5.0 mass %, Si 0.3 to 1.3     mass %, and 0.05 to 5.0 mass % in total of at least one element of     Mg, Sn, and Zn, the balance being copper and an inevitable     impurity(s); and -   (4) a copper alloy comprising Fe 0.5 to 3.0 mass %, and P 0.1 to 1.0     mass %, the balance being copper and an inevitable impurity(s).

The metal material for a wiring connector of the present invention can be produced by means of a general production method involving appropriate repetition, for example, of casting, hot-rolling, cold-rolling, and heat-treating. Further, the average roughness Ra and maximum roughness Rt can be controlled by washing the surface of the metal material with an acid, an alkali, or the like, or by changing the degree of roughness of a roll in a cold-rolling step.

EXAMPLE

The present invention will be described in more detail based on examples given below, but the invention is not meant to be limited by these.

Commercially available sheet materials each composed of a copper alloy or non-ferrous material with thickness 0.15 to 0.25 mm were obtained, and tensile strength, hardness, and conductivity of them were measured. Regarding tensile strength, a JIS-5 test piece was cut out from a direction parallel to the direction rolled, and its tensile strength was measured in accordance with JIS Z 2241. The hardness of the surface of the material was measured in accordance with JIS Z 2244 under a load of 100 g-wt. Regarding electrical conductivity (EC), a test piece with width 10-mm and length 150-mm was cut out from a direction parallel to the direction rolled, and its electrical conductivity was measured in accordance with JIS H 3200 with a distance between terminals of 100 mm. Tables 1 and 2 show the results. Please note that some of the samples given below had different values of mechanical strength, hardness, and electric conductivity, even though they had the same alloy composition, which was resulted due to the fact that their tempers or production conditions were not same each other. TABLE 1 Sheet material Main component Strength Hardness EC No. mass % MPa Hv % IACS 1 Cu—0.15Sn 443 150 88 2 Cu—3.9Sn—0.15P 422 144 19 3 Cu—3.9Sn—0.15P 655 217 17 4 Cu—5.8Sn—0.12P 688 227 14 5 Cu—7.9Sn—0.2P 721 237 13 6 Cu—21Zn 412 141 34 7 Cu—32Zn 482 163 28 8 Cu—32Zn 610 203 28 9 Cu—0.55Cr 582 194 74 10 Cu—0.29Cr—0.25Sn—0.5Zn 550 184 77 11 Cu—0.28Cr—0.8Sn—0.45Zn 528 177 55 12 Cu—0.28Cr—0.8Sn—0.45Zn 668 221 52 13 Cu—0.3Cr—2Sn 685 226 41 14 Cu—0.21Cr—0.11Zr—0.2Zn 522 175 22 15 Cu—2.6Ni—0.55Si—0.1Mg 567 189 75 16 Cu—2.3Ni—0.5Si—0.1Mg—0.15Sn—0.5Zn 680 225 42 17 Cu—2.3Ni—0.5Si—0.1Mg—0.15Sn—0.5Zn 722 238 41 18 Cu—3.7Ni—0.9Si—0.1Mg—0.15Sn—0.5Zn 815 267 35 19 Cu—2.5Ni—0.55Si 712 235 41 20 Cu—2.5Ni—0.55Si—0.5Zn 734 241 48 201 Cu—0.25Cr—0.77Sn—0.3Zn 670 231 51 202 Cu—0.25Cr—0.77Sn—0.3Zn 693 241 51 203 Cu—0.3Cr—0.84Sn—0.4Zn 681 235 50 204 Cu—0.3Cr—0.84Sn—0.4Zn 702 250 50

TABLE 2 Sheet material Main component Strength Hardness EC No. mass % MPa Hv % IACS 21 Cu—0.1Fe—0.04P 422 144 90 22 Cu—1Fe—0.5Sn—0.5Zn 534 179 55 23 Cu—2.4Fe—0.2P 534 179 64 24 Cu—1Ni—0.05P—0.9Sn 523 175 38 25 Cu—0.8Mg—0.05P 511 172 61 26 Cu—3.8Ti 882 288 11 27 Cu—0.15Ag 515 173 96 28 Cu—0.15Zr 498 168 94 29 Cu—0.2Be—1.1Ni 783 257 37 30 Cu—0.2Fe—0.05P—0.96Sn—0.1Ni—0.03B 511 172 75 31 Cu—0.1Fe—0.1Ni—0.05P—0.11Ni—0.04B 533 179 34 32 Cu—3.1Ni—0.68Si—0.3Zn 588 196 54 33 Cu—2.1Sn—0.1Fe—0.03P 562 188 35 34 Cu—2.1Ni—0.53Si—1Zn—0.5Sn 641 212 38 35 Cu—25Zn—0.6Sn 882 288 22 36 Al—0.4Si—0.4Fe—0.1Cu—0.33Mn—4.2Mg—0.1Cr 320 112 18 37 Fe—17Cr—7Ni 1823 582 4 38 Fe—18Cr—8Ni 1432 460 6 39 Fe—36Ni 634 210 3 40 Ni 622 206 18

The surface of the sheet materials was abraded with emery papers (abrasive papers having abrasive particles of SiC adhering to the papers' surface) of various counts of yarn in the same direction as the direction rolled, i.e. the direction parallel to the direction rolled, to obtain materials different from each other in surface roughness. That is, a sample sheet material was fixed on a smooth platen and abraded with emery paper, whose count of yarn was sequentially increased from #230 to #4,000 in eight stages, 30 times in the number of abrasion, and then the resultant surface was washed. It was judged that the abrasion could remove cuprous oxide on a surface layer, and the resultant was subjected to the following evaluation.

A surface roughness was measured in accordance with JIS H 3406. A sample material was scanned with a stylus (probe) by 4 mm in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the material was abraded with emery papers or the direction rolled. The measurement was repeated three times, and the average value of the measurements was determined.

The resultant sheet materials were evaluated for glow resistance and cuprous oxide proliferation resistance.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an apparatus for measuring glow resistance and cuprous oxide proliferation resistance.

Evaluation for glow resistance was performed as described below. That is, a copper wire 2 with diameter 2 mm was attached to a holder 1 equipped with a load applier, and a sample 3 of any one of the examples according to the present invention or the comparative examples was placed on a sample holder 4. Then, the sample was brought into contact with the copper wire 2, and a current flowing between the copper wire 2 and the sample 3 was adjusted to 4A, by means of Slidac (an autotransformer, trade name, manufactured by Toshiba) 8 and a variable resistor 6. Then, the sample holder 4 was vibrated with a vibrator 5, and the wave form of a voltage between the copper wire 2 and the sample 3 was observed with an oscilloscope 7. When glow (micro-electric discharge) occurred between the copper wire 2 and the sample 3, it changed the wave form on the oscilloscope 7. A frequency (the number of times vibrated) applied until the occurrence of the change in wave form was utilized to evaluate glow resistance. With respect to evaluation of grow resistance, when the number of vibration applied until occurrence of the change in wave form, which means occurrence of grow, is 1,000 or less, it is judged to be “poor”; when said number is more than 1,000 but not more than 2,000, it is judged to be “satisfactory”; and when said number is more than 2,000, it is judged to be “good”.

Then, evaluation for cuprous oxide proliferation resistance was performed as described below. Vibration with the vibrator 5 was stopped simultaneously with the confirmation of the occurrence of glow, and then the sample 3 was left to stand for 60 minutes. Then, the sample 3 was taken out, and then cuprous oxide formed on the surface of the sample 3 was collected, to measure the mass thereof. The mass, i.e. the proliferated amount of cuprous oxide (mg), was utilized to evaluate cuprous oxide proliferation resistance. With respect to evaluation of cuprous oxide proliferation resistance, when the mount of cuprous oxide formed (mg) is 200 mg or less, it is judged to be “good”; when said amount is more than 200 mg but not more than 250 mg, it is judged to be “satisfactory”; and when said amount is more than 250 mg, it is judged to be “poor”.

Tables 3 to 7 show the results. TABLE 3 Glow Cuprous resist- oxide Sheet ance proliferation material Ra Rt ×1,000 resistance No. No. μm μm Rt/Ra (times) (mg) Remarks 1 1 0.12 0.82 6.83 200 153 This 2 1 0.21 1.71 8.14 65 83 invention 3 2 0.15 1.23 8.04 128 133 4 2 0.17 1.39 8.11 46 76 5 3 0.12 1.05 8.75 212 155 6 3 0.22 1.77 8.01 73 95 7 4 0.19 1.52 7.97 221 157 8 4 0.23 1.84 8.18 61 80 9 5 0.16 1.31 8.09 29 70 10 5 0.16 1.35 8.29 131 120 11 6 0.22 1.69 7.79 172 146 12 6 0.16 1.34 8.17 87 96 13 7 0.20 1.65 8.32 330 181 14 7 0.17 1.30 7.73 77 80 15 8 0.14 1.11 7.93 34 76 16 8 0.18 1.44 7.84 54 82 17 9 0.05 0.48 8.93 97 122 18 9 0.18 1.39 7.60 80 87 19 10 0.07 0.51 7.49 419 180 20 10 0.27 1.88 7.97 29 48 21 11 0.07 0.62 8.72 153 141 22 11 0.25 2.00 8.02 43 65 23 12 0.07 0.52 7.91 113 128 24 12 0.30 1.92 8.02 125 99 25 13 0.07 0.60 8.01 51 94 26 13 0.22 1.56 7.20 180 127 27 14 0.05 0.43 7.84 127 133 28 14 0.24 1.84 7.83 238 139 29 15 0.09 0.65 7.45 308 171 30 15 0.16 1.29 8.07 25 43

TABLE 4 Glow Cuprous resist- oxide Sheet ance proliferation material Ra Rt ×1,000 resistance No. No. μm μm Rt/Ra (times) (mg) Remarks 31 16 0.02 0.14 7.03 343 80 This 32 16 0.12 0.97 8.39 90 127 invention 33 17 0.06 0.52 8.01 263 165 34 17 0.13 1.09 8.56 40 62 35 18 0.01 0.06 4.95 125 155 36 18 0.20 1.67 8.24 215 93 37 19 0.04 0.24 6.54 38 81 38 19 0.25 1.92 7.83 54 127 39 20 0.02 0.22 9.12 242 87 40 20 0.27 1.89 7.05 32 53 41 21 0.11 0.92 8.37 100 111 42 21 0.21 1.65 7.88 82 88 43 22 0.08 0.58 7.40 69 119 44 22 0.16 1.20 7.50 32 62 45 23 0.11 0.89 7.84 33 62 46 23 0.14 1.21 8.33 37 68 47 24 0.18 1.42 7.93 48 79 48 24 0.16 1.38 8.46 41 72 49 25 0.20 1.57 7.95 213 89 50 25 0.14 1.16 8.15 42 73 51 26 0.12 0.99 8.03 116 117 52 26 0.21 1.70 8.10 27 54 53 27 0.13 1.06 8.40 131 135 54 27 0.21 1.69 7.90 127 79 55 28 0.06 0.48 7.77 196 152 56 28 0.22 1.76 8.16 94 87 57 29 0.01 0.05 9.33 263 149 58 29 0.28 1.87 6.75 248 156 59 30 0.05 0.47 9.32 379 181 60 30 0.26 1.99 7.55 154 120 601 201 0.11 1.25 11.36 221 155 602 202 0.14 1.38 9.86 123 131 603 203 0.13 1.05 8.08 112 120 604 204 0.18 1.18 6.56 104 115

TABLE 5 Glow Cuprous resist- oxide Sheet ance proliferation material Ra Rt ×1,000 resistance No. No. μm μm Rt/Ra (times) (mg) Remarks 61 31 0.05 0.46 9.69 162 137 This 62 31 0.24 1.89 7.86 196 131 invention 63 32 0.03 0.25 7.44 188 161 64 32 0.18 1.38 7.78 185 140 65 33 0.08 0.61 7.94 352 181 66 33 0.22 1.92 8.86 108 105 67 34 0.15 1.31 8.62 190 143 68 34 0.19 1.81 9.44 102 110 69 35 0.11 0.91 8.37 92 119 70 35 0.20 1.36 6.92 34 55 71 36 0.18 1.49 8.08 68 106 72 36 0.28 1.85 3.83 398 162 73 37 0.12 0.88 7.45 30 70 74 37 0.17 1.89 4.04 175 126 75 38 0.09 0.64 6.94 42 85 76 38 0.21 1.87 4.43 64 75 77 39 0.17 1.35 7.94 41 84 78 39 0.25 1.64 6.67 218 136 79 40 0.20 1.56 7.97 175 147 80 40 0.28 1.92 6.77 68 93 81 3 0.23 1.93 8.36 212 155 82 7 0.23 1.88 8.25 114 101 83 14 0.29 1.85 6.28 114 113 84 18 0.23 1.97 8.41 123 136

TABLE 6 Glow Cuprous resist- oxide Sheet ance proliferation material Ra Rt ×1,000 resistance No. No. μm μm Rt/Ra (times) (mg) Remarks 85 1 0.35 2.84 8.11 9.3 394 Compar- 86 2 0.41 3.24 7.91 2.0 354 ative 87 4 0.35 2.54 7.31 0.7 322 example 88 5 0.47 3.76 7.96 2.3 320 89 6 0.41 4.03 9.80 0.7 288 90 8 0.54 4.25 7.91 5.9 374 91 9 0.40 4.35 11.01 2.3 361 92 10 0.59 4.71 8.02 2.1 367 93 11 0.26 4.00 15.28 5.1 386 94 12 0.58 4.70 8.11 3.2 348 95 13 0.56 4.48 8.06 1.5 316 96 15 0.34 2.52 7.39 5.4 350 97 16 0.32 2.70 8.46 3.0 395 98 17 0.57 4.52 7.87 0.7 328 99 19 0.33 2.94 8.99 0.7 302 100 20 0.48 3.88 8.04 4.5 385

TABLE 7 Glow Cuprous resist- oxide Sheet ance proliferation material Ra Rt ×1,000 resistance No. No. μm μm Rt/Ra (times) (mg) Remarks 101 21 0.39 3.20 8.22 3.3 327 Compar- 102 22 0.21 3.35 15.75 1.2 332 ative 103 23 0.22 3.36 15.23 1.0 311 example 104 24 0.44 2.54 5.72 3.4 328 105 25 0.23 3.45 15.05 8.2 366 106 26 0.13 2.41 18.28 2.0 305 107 27 0.49 3.86 7.93 6.1 375 108 28 0.23 2.90 12.55 6.1 376 109 29 0.26 2.89 11.08 5.8 377 110 30 0.45 3.62 8.00 0.9 422 111 31 0.36 3.11 8.53 1.8 330 112 32 0.41 3.28 8.02 3.8 404 113 33 0.28 3.81 13.73 5.9 407 114 34 0.45 3.57 7.90 9.5 428 115 35 0.49 3.96 8.04 8.7 410 116 36 0.29 3.92 13.60 3.8 365 117 37 0.27 3.57 13.02 1.1 320 118 38 0.33 2.70 8.18 9.0 425 119 39 0.64 5.16 8.04 0.7 378 120 40 0.70 5.60 8.01 1.2 340

As is apparent from Tables 3 to 7, the sheet materials Nos. 85-to 120 for comparison each had a too large Ra or too large Ra and Rt, so they showed a conspicuously large amount of cuprous oxide proliferated, or alternatively, they were poor in glow resistance and showed a conspicuously large amount of cuprous oxide proliferated.

Contrary to the above, it is found that the sheet materials of the present invention shown in Nos. 1 to 84 and 601 to 604 each were excellent, since they each were excellent in glow resistance and showed a drastically small amount of cuprous oxide proliferated.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

In the metal material of the present invention for a wiring connector, the average roughness Ra and the maximum roughness Rt are limited, and, preferably, a ratio of the maximum roughness Rt to the average roughness Ra is controlled in a prescribed range. As a result, occurrence of glow and proliferation of cuprous oxide can be prevented, and heat generation can be suppressed. Therefore, the metal material of the present invention is preferable for use in a wiring connector, such as an outlet of an electrical appliance, or a switch of illumination.

Having described our invention as related to the present embodiments, it is our intention that the invention not be limited by any of the details of the description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims. 

1. A metal material for a wiring connector in wiring connection between metallic members, wherein at least one of the metallic members is comprised of copper or a copper alloy, wherein a connecting portion surface of at least one of the metallic members has an average roughness Ra of 0.3 μm or less and a maximum roughness Rt of 2.0 μm or less, and wherein the metal material is excellent in glow resistance.
 2. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein a ratio Rt/Ra between the maximum roughness Rt and the average roughness Ra is 10 or less, and wherein the metal material is excellent in glow resistance.
 3. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal material has a tensile strength of 500 MPa or more, and an electric conductivity of 30% IACS or more.
 4. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal material is comprised of a copper alloy comprising Sn 0.1 to 10 mass %, and P 0.001 to 0.5 mass %, the balance being copper and inevitable impurities.
 5. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal material is comprised of a copper alloy comprising Cr 0.1 to 1.0 mass %, and 0.05 to 5 mass % of at least one element of Sn and Zn, the balance being copper and an inevitable impurities.
 6. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal material is comprised of a copper alloy comprising Ni 1.0 to 5.0 mass %, Si 0.3 to 1.3 mass %, and 0.05 to 5.0 mass % in total of at least one element of Mg, Sn, and Zn, the balance being copper and an inevitable impurities.
 7. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal material is comprised of a copper alloy comprising Fe 0.5 to 3.0 mass %, and P 0.1 to 1.0 mass %, the balance being copper and an inevitable impurities.
 8. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the metal material has a tensile strength of 500 MPa or more, and an electric conductivity of 30% IACS or more.
 9. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the metal material is comprised of a copper alloy comprising Sn 0.1 to 10 mass %, and P 0.001 to 0.5 mass %, the balance being copper and inevitable impurities.
 10. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the metal material is comprised of a copper alloy comprising Cr 0.1 to 1.0 mass %, and 0.05 to 5 mass % of at least one element of Sn and Zn, the balance being copper and an inevitable impurities.
 11. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the metal material is comprised of a copper alloy comprising Ni 1.0 to 5.0 mass %, Si 0.3 to 1.3 mass %, and 0.05 to 5.0 mass % in total of at least one element of Mg, Sn, and Zn, the balance being copper and an inevitable impurities.
 12. The metal material for a wiring connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the metal material is comprised of a copper alloy comprising Fe 0.5 to 3.0 mass %, and P 0.1 to 1.0 mass %, the balance being copper and an inevitable impurities. 